Fab Fill-in Steve Stricker's career is back on track after a win in the star-challenged World Match Play

He didn't belong. Remember that, because now that Steve Strickeris again a factor in the golf world, it will be easy to forgethe sneaked into last week's Accenture Match Play Championship inMelbourne, Australia, with an ordinary World Ranking of 90th.Designed as a glitzy showcase for golf's 64 best players, thethird edition of the $5 million Match Play was held too early inthe year and too far from home to attract many of the satedsuperstars. Their absence opened up the field to Stricker and anumber of other down-on-their-luck dreamers.

If these stand-ins lacked star power, they made up for it withpassion. Stricker, a Wisconsin native, spent 17 days in Floridaduring December tuning up his game to take advantage of thischance in the sun, and, having left his wife and baby daughterbehind, he spent a lonely New Year's Eve in Melbourne alone withhis thoughts. Stricker's resolution? To pretend it was 1996, whenhe was a 29-year-old golden boy who won two Tour events, finishedfourth on the money list and went 5-0 to lead the U.S. to victoryat the Dunhill Cup.

In the four seasons that followed, Stricker was worse thanwinless: he was rendered all but obsolete. "I've kind of slippedoff the face of the golf world," he said last week atMetropolitan Golf Club. "I want to start playing well again. Iknow I have that good player inside of me somewhere." On Sundayevening, following a taut 2-and-1 victory over Sweden's PierreFulke in the 36-hole final, Stricker had successfully traveledback to the future, zooming from the tournament's waiting listto its $1 million first prize on the strength of his oldhallmarks--a bulletproof short game and bare-knuckled Big Tentoughness.

Six of the top seven players in the World Ranking were AWOL atthe Match Play, but the way Stricker played, they were hardlymissed. It's a sure bet that none of the multimillionaireabsentees would have cried like a baby after winning, as Strickerdid during the trophy ceremony on Metropolitan's 17th green.These were joyful tears, but they also had a cleansing effect,confirming the purity of Stricker's triumph.

He arrived in Melbourne having declined all overtures for a clubcontract, forgoing the guaranteed money in hopes of regaining hisold form. The 14 sticks Stricker used were a mishmash of fivebrands, including the trusty Ping putter and Callaway driver thathe used throughout '96, both of which he was compelled toshelve--with disastrous results--when he signed lucrativeendorsement deals at the end of that season. It is a furthermeasure of Stricker's rekindled dedication that he neverhesitated to travel Down Under, even though he's a noted homebodywho limits himself to 20 tournaments a year. "I knew the fieldwas going to be wide open," Stricker said, "and that it was agreat chance to get off to a fast start."

In fact, to help fill out the draw, it was necessary to includethe 103rd-ranked player, Aussie unknown Nick O'Hern, who six daysbefore the tournament was awakened at midnight by a call fromTour headquarters in Florida. O'Hern was so groggy that the nextmorning he had no recollection of having received the invitation."I got up and couldn't understand why my wife was bouncing offthe walls," he says.

Meanwhile, No. 1 seed Ernie Els, the only real marquee player inthe field, caused some consternation by blowing into town thenight before the tournament. Els hadn't wanted to miss his usualNew Year's bash in South Africa, and he described hispretournament preparation as "barbecuing crayfish and drinking acouple of beers." That was apparently enough to fuel an easy3-and-2 first-round victory over Greg Kraft, but Els's match wasone of the few boring ones during an opening day that saw sixmatches go to sudden death and another four end on the 18th hole.

The most riveting duel was O'Hern's victory on the 21st hole overa gallant Hal Sutton, the tournament's second seed, who was sodebilitated by back pain he could barely bend over to tee up hisball. Stricker sprang the day's other upset, bouncing Irishstalwart Padraig Harrington, the 10th seed. "I don't think it'san upset," a fired-up Stricker said after his 2-and-1 win. "Istill feel as if I'm a good enough player to beat anybody if Iget my game going."

The action, highlighted by a fearless Japanese twosome, reached afever pitch during last Thursday's second round. Toru Taniguchi,a diminutive 32-year-old playing his first event outside Asia,pulled off the biggest upset of the tournament when he stunnedVijay Singh, the third seed. Taniguchi finished the front-ninebirdie-par-eagle-birdie to make the turn 4 up and held on for aone-up win. His mentor, Shigeki Maruyama, turned in an equallyoutrageous performance. Four down to Bob May after 12 holes,Maruyama sank a 40-foot birdie putt to win the 17th, then draineda 70-footer for birdie to take the 18th and force sudden death.Maruyama put away a punch-drunk May on the 22nd hole.

Stricker began producing some pyrotechnics of his own duringFriday's Sweet 16. Poor Justin Leonard played the first 13 holesin two under par--and lost 6 and 5, as Stricker went nine underover the same span, making a pair of eagles and needing,unofficially, only 14 putts. Fulke had a much tougher time withMichael Campbell, the fifth seed. They combined for an eagle and13 birdies, the last of which came at the 18th hole when Fulkerolled in a 30-footer with 10 feet of break to steal a one-upvictory. This came a day after Fulke had rammed in a 20-footer atthe last to force a playoff with Glen Day, who succumbed on the20th hole.

Fulke's clutch play was in keeping with his billing as one ofEurope's rising stars, but, like Stricker's, his ride to the tophas been bumpy. After six years of unfulfilled promise, Fulke,29, finally broke through in September 1999 with a win at theTrophee Lancome in Paris. However, within weeks his year wasaborted by a mysterious pain in his right arm and shoulder. Notuntil the spring of 2000 was the malady--pinched lumbarnerves--identified and treated.

Fulke returned to action last June and began tearing up theEuropean tour, winning the Scottish PGA Championship in Augustand the tour's season-ending Volvo Masters. At the latter Fulkelaced a five-wood through a howling wind at the 70th hole to setup the eagle that downed Darren Clarke, a heroic blow that theEuropean tour honored as its shot of the year. Fulke has JimFuryk's game (short--even with an ERC driver--and straight off thetee, brilliant on and around the greens) and Fuzzy Zoeller'sinsouciance. Fulke all but whistles while he works, a helpfulattitude given the strain of the Match Play weekend.

If the tournament's wild first three days are about fast andfurious action, the final two (back-to-back 18-hole matches onSaturday, followed by a 36-hole death march on Sunday) are agrind for survival, with birdie flurries giving way to the gloryof the ugly par. Stricker, whose driving is erratic even at thebest of times, seemed to play every hole out of the heather inhis Saturday-morning Elite Eight match against O'Hern, who as thelast Aussie left in the draw was being fitted for a glassFoot-Joy. Two down after five holes, Stricker battled back totake O'Hern to sudden death, and then, on the 19th hole withO'Hern stiff for a sure birdie, Stricker coolly rolled in a20-footer for a halve--"the biggest putt of the tournament," hesaid. On the next hole Stricker nearly knocked down the flagstickwith his approach, and the match ended with a concession. On theother side of the draw Fulke outlasted Brad Faxon (World Ranking:76) in 19 holes.

Birdies were in short supply on Saturday afternoon. Fulke's2-and-1 defeat of Els would rate as a major upset, except theworld No. 2 played such uninspired golf that he admitted, "Itdidn't take much to beat me, that's for sure." Stricker found asimilarly lackluster opponent in Taniguchi, who, drained from hisemotional quarterfinal victory over Maruyama, didn't put up muchof a fight in a 2-and-1 loss. Stricker's confidence was clearlycresting. "I've learned a lot about myself the last couple ofdays," he said on Saturday night. "I've dug down deep when I'vehad to."

The final match began with both players chugging along withoutdistinction. All square through 14 holes, Fulke strung togetherthree straight bogeys to go three down and, during the afternoon18, repeatedly blew opportunities to cut into the deficit.Stricker, clinging to the lead like a terrier locked on to theleg of a postman, made an amazing sand save at the 34th hole tostay one up, then stepped to the tee of Metro's 17th hole--a long,narrow, sharply doglegged par-4--and ripped a fearless drivearound the corner, some 50 yards past Fulke. "One of my goalsthis year is to not back off, no matter the situation," Strickersaid. When Fulke couldn't get up and down from the front bunker,Stricker had the most important win of his career.

Afterward he was reminded that back in 1996 his name often cameup in conversations about golf's best young players, along withthe names of contemporaries like Els, Furyk and David Duval. "Ithurts, but I deserved to disappear from that list," saidStricker, who finished 64th and 113th, respectively, on the moneylist the past two seasons. He may no longer have that youthfulbuzz, but Stricker is, at long last, back at the top of his gameand back in the winner's circle. Back where he belongs.

COLOR PHOTO: PHOTOGRAPH BY BOB MARTINCOLOR PHOTO: DAVID CALLOW LASTING IMPRESSION A last-minute entry, O'Hern won three matches before losing in sudden death to the eventual champion.

"I've kind of slipped off the face of the golf world," saysStricker. "I know I have that good player inside of me somewhere."